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The 2012 Music Frees All Festival will take place one BIG night at the wonderful Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, and all of the proceeds will go to the Scotty Hard Trust. Teaming up with OkayAfrica, the Music Frees All Festival will bring you performances by Antibalas, Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew, Prince Paul, DJ Monk-One, EMEFE, Little Shalimar, Superhuman Happiness with special guests, DJ Pres, and Billy Martin's Fang Percussion.

On February 16, 2008, as Scotty was leaving a late night session at his Brooklyn studio, a stolen car broadsided the taxi he was traveling in, paralyzing him below the chest, sending him into complicated spinal reconstruction surgery and hospitalization. To friends and admirers alike, Scotty is a true inspiration, and indeed, his spirits remain high. With his positive outlook on life and sense of humor fully in tact, he has made great progress. But there remains a long road ahead, and Scotty Hard continues to need our support.

Music has the power to move people, to make people smile and dance in hard times. Dancing is an important release from everyday life, a way for the body and the mind to be free. Music that can move people - funk, afrobeat, reggae, hip hop, and the like - will never die away. The Music Frees All Festival for Scotty Hard will bring together these bootyshakers and groovemakers to celebrate music and life, all to raise money for Scotty Hard, one of the most inspirational producers and people in the music business today.

The musical collective known as Antibalas​ (Spanish for bullet-proof or anti-bullets) was conceived of in Mexico City and formed in Brooklyn New York. The early nucleus of the group was composed of the band's founder Martín Perna and included several members from the Soul Providers / Dap Kings band, performing their first show in May 1998 in Harlem, NY. Soon after, Lagos, Nigeria native Amayo joined the band after seeing the band at a neighborhood concert. Fluent in the afrobeat music of Fela, he began composing and performing lyrics and assuming the role of the group's lead vocalist / frontman. The band began rehearsing and composing at Desco 41st street studios and later at the first Daptone Studios at Amayo's Afro Spot venue. They spent their first year performing exclusively in noncommercial spaces in lofts, community centers, parks, art galleries. In August 1999, they created a weekly residence called Africalia at Tribeca club NoMoore that ran for 18 months, where the band and repertoire expanded.

In 2001, following their debut record (reissued independently, then licensed to Ninja Tune) they began touring internationally, from Glastonbury, Montreux to Newport Jazz and other renowned rock, jazz and world music festivals. Around 2003, following their third album "Who Is This America," the Dap Kings and Antibalas both became very busy, each group developed its separate full-time lineup although the groups would remain close, later reuniting with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Charles Bradley for the 2014 Daptone Super Soul Revue across summer festivals and theaters in Europe and culminating in a three night run at New York's Apollo Theater. The group toured heavily performing over one hundred shows per year spread across North America and Europe between 2002 and 2007 with the releases of their third album, "Who Is This America", and fourth, "Security".

From 2007-2012 many members and former members of the Antibalas participated in the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical FELA!, including the show's musical director Aaron Johnson, lead saxophonist Stuart Bogie, and assistant MD trumpeter Jordan McLean. In 2011, the group returned to the Daptone House of Soul to record their most recent album, "Antibalas" produced by emeritus member Gabriel Roth. The group toured heavily throughout the US and Europe, and later that year, performed songs from the album live on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Antibalas has recorded five studio albums on the Daptone, Ninja Tune, Anti-, and Ropeadope labels as well as a number of singles and EPs. The band is currently finishing their sixth studio album due out in mid-2017. Though recognized for their fluency in Afrobeat and funk music, the band is known to collaborate with diverse groups and artists, from Angélique Kidjo to Jovanotti to Medeski Martin & Wood to Public Enemy, and served as the house band at Carnegie Hall in 2014 (Music of Paul Simon), 2015 (Music of David Byrne & Talking Heads) and most recently 2017’s Music of Aretha Franklin.

The Antibalas horns have performed on Grammy award-winning albums by Angelique Kidjo, and Mark Ronson and dozens of albums, sound tracks and live guest appearances with artists including The Roots, My Morning Jacket, TV on the Radio, Santigold, Jovanotti, Nneka, Ed Sheeran, Alabama Shakes, The String Cheese Incident and numerous others. Former Antibalas members have gone on to record and perform with The Dap Kings, Arcade Fire, Mark Ronson, the Black Keys, the Arks, Menahan Street Band, the El Michels Affair, Iron and Wine, Bat For Lashes, and Imogen Heap.

After packing the national stadium for performances in their home country of Sierra Leone and contributing music to the Academy Award–nominated film Blood Diamond, African superstars Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew are poised to conquer the global airwaves with their international debut album (due out in fall 2009) and their unique sound, which blends the swagger and funk of hip-hop, the passion and energy of dancehall, and the socially conscious vibe of reggae. The group has generated so much buzz in the hip-hop world that major stars including ?uestlove and Black Thought of The Roots, Talib Kweli, K'Naan, Res, and El-P have contributed their vocal and/or production talents to the upcoming release, helmed by the production team Fyre Department (whose credits include 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, GZA, Talib Kweli, Justin Timberlake). With this great collection of creatives, Bajah's own star is rising as the Sean Paul of West Africa with the social conscience of Bob Marley and Fela Kuti.

So much more than just another hip-hop outfit, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew have been likened to another band renowned internationally for speaking out against political and social injustices: U2. In Sierra Leone, now emerging from the throes of a brutal 10-year civil war, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew are hailed as "the voice of the voiceless," speaking truths on behalf of those people who have no political power, spreading messages of peace and reconciliation, outing corrupt politicians, and inspiring the disenfranchised youth to pursue their dreams. "We always speak about real stuff, like the suffering, what is going on," says the group's frontman, Bajah. "So most of the youth, the fans, are going crazy over it, because they think it's the reality— that's how it is. So they show mad love at times."

Love is another theme of their music, and the joy and love their legions of fans have shown them comes through in their energetic, powerful live performances. The Crew—which consists of Bajah, A-Klazz, and Dovy Dovy in the U.S. and the Jungle Leaders (Funky Fred, Dell, and Sly) back in Sierra Leone—started writing, recording, and performing together in 2000, and quickly rose to the heights of fame in their home country, where everyone from young schoolchildren to village elders have come out to support Dry Eye's music and message—often going to extremes to show these national heroes love and respect. "When we have a show in the national stadium, you see these guys making a long line, taking off their T-shirts and putting them on the floor so we can walk on it as a mat to go on the stage," says A-Klazz. "Yeah. Red carpet," Bajah adds with amazement. "A lot of love, man. For real."

In Sierra Leone, the term dry eye is an expression of boldness. "The kids that always try to ask questions and want to know things are the dry eye. If you always coming up to talk to the elder people, trying to ask them certain questions, they say, 'Oh, you, you're dry eye,' like, 'You're bold. You're too bold!'" Bajah explains. "But we just use dry eye because we decide to talk about the bad things going on. Cause the leaders, we take them as our fathers—but we still gonna say some things, the reality. We just gonna stand, no matter what. No more tears in the eye. We're just gonna stay dry eye and say something. You understand? That's strong.

"We talk about different things," Bajah continues. "We talk about love. We talk about life, social problems. Music is about life." And now, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew are sharing their unique perspective on life and spreading their message of hope, love, and inspiration across the globe through their vibrant, infectious music and their electrifying live shows. And the world is listening...

Beginning his career as a DJ for Stetsasonic, rapper and producer Prince Paul has lent his skills to albums by Boogie Down Productions, Gravediggaz, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane, and 3rd Bass, among others. Paul's big break came when he produced De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising album. Shattering the acknowledged rules of hip-hop production, he sampled not only funk, but all types of music to create fresh and original backing tracks. By throwing in comedy sketches as well, Prince Paul and De La Soul completely ushered in a new era for hip-hop. In 1994, Paul returned to rapping, joining RZA and Stetsasonic member Frukwan in Gravediggaz, a side project that debuted with 6 Feet Deep. He also began working with the new elite in underground rap, recruiting the Automator, New Kingdom's Scott Harding, and Spectre for his debut solo album, 1997's Psychoanalysis: What Is It? A Prince Among Thieves followed in 1999, and later that year Paul formed Handsome Boy Modeling School with the Automator to release the album So...How's Your Girl?. His own Politics of the Business, another concept album that was more bitter than biting, surfaced in 2003 (a year after a second Handsome Boy Modeling School album), and was followed by 2005's Itstrumental, as well as the archival compilation Hip Hop Gold Dust

Superhuman Happiness, led by Stuart Bogie (best known for his recent work with Arcade Fire, JRAD and Antibalas), bring together live dance rhythms, sweet melodies, and an experimental and improvisational approach to performing that must be seen live to appreciate. Expect horns, handclaps, dance competitions, dad jokes, funky guitars, sing-a-longs, and infectious beats. This performance will feature long time collaborators Dia Luna on vocals (Touch/Feel), Eric Biondo (Father John Misty, Elevator Party), Luke O'Malley (The Roots, Antibalas), Miles Francis (Antibalas, Angelique Kidjo), and Marcus Ferrar (Anitbalas) and surprise guests TBA.

He's the guy up at night by himself, stitching songs together in his New York City apartment all winter. There's a special art to making an album in the spare seconds that the rest of a regular life can't quite reach. Recorded track-by-track-by-track with Pratt on most of the instruments in his apartment studio during the New York City winter of 2010, this slow-motion musicianship became Natives (Luaka Bop).

Natives may be your first official introduction to the music of Bright Moments but if you have spent time with some of the most beloved indie albums of the last decade, you'll quickly realize that you know him well. He is the multi-instrumentalist whose trumpet sparks across so many of Beirut's songs and whose harmonizing vocals is a central component to the band's robust live performances. He has also shouldered everything from flugelhorn to flute to bring Arcade Fire's Neon Bible to life, and was part of the horn section that LCD Soundsystem used during its sunset days.

DJ Monk-One, aka Andrew Mason, has DJ-ed in New York City for fifteen years and is a founder and Contributing Editor of Wax Poetics Magazine. He has released numerous best-selling mix CDs and records of his own compositions through his independent label, Names You Can Trust as well as holding residencies at WBAI-FM and many of the finest, funkiest parties in New York City. As one half of the renowned production squad Greenwood Rhythm Coalition Monk has done remix and original work for labels in the US, Japan and Europe and has DJ-ed across the globe.

In 2009, Miles Arntzen started EMEFE with one purpose: to create an unparalleled live experience around his original music. Three weeks later, they played their first show to a ravenously packed house in New York City. Four years later, they had played countless venues across the country, opened for Passion Pit and Big Boi, and released studio albums that documented their live sound. In 2013, the band challenged themselves to create a studio record that surpassed their reputation as merely a great live act. Holing away for 2 years, they used the studio, not the stage, as their instrument to both capture the music's energy and explore its depth. They now present the world with EMEFE, a concept album debuting the band's fearless funk-pop music in an unparalleled listening experience.

EMEFE is about breaking through static, the undefinable noise and clutter of everyday life. The album’s concepts were inspired by French author Jacques Lusseyran’s And There Was Light, chronicling a blind man’s realization of light and love in his time during the French resistance movement. After years of creating an original and fearless pop style showcased through their live performances, their signature style is finally exhibited on their new record. EMEFE’s beats are a cross between Fela Kuti and Prince, with vocals reminiscent of the Talking Heads’ candor and the Beach Boys’ lushness... all with a unique pop sensibility. Coming to terms with frustration, anxiety and fear, the album pits complacency against change. The first half of the album (the ‘Tension Suite’) descends into these static emotions without ever escaping them; the second half (the ‘Release Suite’) ascends beyond, into a place of clarity and peace.

EMEFE has collaborated with artists such as Gabriel Garzon-Montano, Hoodie Allen, Baloji, Lafa Taylor, Chico Mann, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Magic City Hippies, Grace Weber, and more. Taking the drum chair with afrobeat pioneers Antibalas and Arcade Fire's Will Butler, Arntzen also established himself as a go‐to New York City musician by the time he turned 23, collaborating and sharing stages with artists such as Arcade Fire, The Roots, Nile Rodgers, Tuneyards, Action Bronson, My Morning Jacket, Angelique Kidjo, Tony Allen and more.